Chapter 21 (1/2)

Informer (1)

There was a loud noise behind the closed door.

Bang! Crush!

It was the sound of a four-legged animal swiftly running around the room and gnawing furniture. There was also the sound of objects clattering to the floor. Then there was a sound of running away again, most likely to it being startled by a loud sound. I could roughly estimate so.

I felt as if my nervousness from the nightmare was sinking away. I laughed and suddenly opened the door. Then, I saw the little guy in my room. He was standing up with his hind feet on the ground, perhaps about to grab the edge of the table cloth with its front feet. The creature that resembled a tuxedo cat stopped moving, locking its eyes on me.

“Kyeoong!”

Iponia jumped into the air, its hair raising up as if it were startled. It turned itself upside down, making a U-shape in the air, and fell to the floor. Then, with a crackling noise, it hid under the bed. I closed the door before speaking.

“You must feel comfortable by now, huh?”

It tried to hide under the bed and keep silent. But then.

Swoosh!

His long black tail, several times the length of his body, came out of the bed and fluttered, sweeping the floor on both sides. It was no different from a birds’ intelligence to think that they are completely hidden if others aren’t visible in their own eyes.

‘Well, it’s still a baby.’

I laughed at its fluttering tail as if it were sweeping the floor.

“Cute.”

I looked around the room. It must have regained its energy after being fed while I was gone, so it had roamed around and played. The table clock rolled on the floor, and there were scratches all over the furniture. I scanned for anything broken.

“···Oh!”

I picked up what was placed in the corner of the room. It was a crystal ball that had a vivid green color like the eyes of Iponia.

“You really must’ve been comfortable, no?”

Iponia must have vomited when I wasn’t there. I looked inside. Mana danced in patterns inside. In some cases, several types were mixed together, but it seemed that this was only one type. I looked around to see if it had vomited something else up. I lowered my head and lifted the bed. I could see Iponia’s quite chubby butt, crouching with its back facing me.

“I can increase the amount of food you eat.”

It didn’t look back, but one ear moved as if responding to my speech. I put the crystal on my desk.

Knock, knock.

At that point, I heard a knocking sound.

“Come on in.”

Secretary Kim entered the room, immediately confused by what he saw inside.

“This···?”

He muttered as if asking me to explain.

“Did the high of amnesia already go away? Still, you didn’t scratch furniture before.”

I heard that in the past, Seo Jin-wook had many of his crazy episodes alone in his room.

“Relax. It’s not me. The cat-like guy did this while I was sleeping.”

His gaze landed on the elongated tail on the floor.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Please sit down.”

As soon as he realized that it wasn’t a big deal, he started the briefing. A hologram floated in the air as he touched the terminal on his wrist. I quickly read it and expressed some disappointment.

“There seems to be no information about Angelica, right?”

The interim report was about those who ambushed us while visiting the black market a few days ago. Faces were photographed, and their hair samples were collected before the snakes could eat the corpses.

“Yeah. Instead, they did a quite detailed investigation on the men. “

I read through the hologram.

“They haven’t officially reported as a guild. Although nominally registered as freelance hunters, in reality, they have their organizational system, and they take charge of dirty quests from guilds and companies.”

While listening to his explanation, I paid attention to the person’s face on the hologram.

“This is the middle boss who is believed to have something to do with this job.”

He was referring to the very man in the picture I was looking at. He had sharp eyes slit on both sides, a hawkish nose, and an exceptionally angular chin. He was the one I had recognized. And so, it was like that. These guys were involved. I hadn’t been directly involved with them in my previous life, but I had a detailed grasp of what kind of guys they were.

“Ma Sang-Hyun, 47 years old. According to the information registered in the Hunter Management Department, he is a C-class hunter that doesn’t belong to any guild.”

Secretary Kim spoke while showing the place where Ma Sang-Hyun was photographed and the video that was secretly filmed.

“This is all of the information that has been obtained so far.”

Secretary Kim looked as if he was waiting for the next set of instructions. I pretended to be thinking about something before speaking.

“I see. Please give me some time to think before deciding on the next step. Information may be updated in the meantime, so.”

“Yes.”

In fact, it was a lie to need time to think. The plan had already solidified in my mind. If I only had told Secretary Kim, he would likely be frightened and would oppose me. I pretended to be in serious contemplation, hiding my thoughts. Secretary Kim carefully spoke again.

“Do you still not have any plans to share this within the guild?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I won’t ask you any more about that.”

“Thank you very much.”

“No. Team Leader, by the way…”

He then looked at the green crystal I put on my desk, as he had been glancing at it several times from a while ago.

“What is that? At first glance, it looks like an artifact.”

Nevertheless, a hunter’s wisdom did see things through. From what he had seen once, he realized that the crystal was made of a material not found in this world.

“Team Leader, perhaps!”

His eyes, looking at me, sparkling with anticipation and curiosity.

“Does that have something to do with your unique skill?!”

He must’ve been itching to ask, but it seemed that he had endured a lot until the report was over. When I saw that expression, I suddenly felt playful. I picked up the green crystal, gave it a little Mana, and threw it lightly at Secretary Kim.